IMD Global Family Business
Programs
Our expertise is based on our deep understanding of the complexities of family enterprises from our work with many of the leading families and family enterprises in the world over the last 30 years.
Insights & Research
Through our research and educational work with family businesses from all over the world, we have gained some extraordinary insights into the dynamics that can drive family businesses either to outstanding achievements or to failure. With the ongoing support of the Wild Group Chair for Family Business and the Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy, we have produced a wide range of publications, some published in top international academic journals.
Browse some of the Center’s recent publications by type
Media & Events
The IMD Global Family Business Center helps family enterprises ensure the sustainable success of their business and family, whether large or small. We organize webinars and give presentations at various conferences around the world or virtually.
Keep up to date on our events, news and thought leadership. Join the Family Business Center on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter below!
Cette conférence vous invite à la réflexion et aux échanges afin de mieux saisir les défis et les apprentissages que chacun peut tirer de la philanthropie familiale. Contact us if you would like to register.
Family Business Awards
About the Family Business Center
We are very fortunate to benefit from two Chairs dedicated to the study and support of family businesses.
IMD was the birthplace of family business education in 1988.
We are forever indebted to Frank Tilley, former executive-in-residence, who identified family business as a field IMD ought to be active in, and to Professor Alden Lank, the first faculty member to lead the initiative.
Professors John Davis, Ivan Lansberg and John Ward were instrumental in launching the first Leading the Family Business (LFB) program in 1988. Dr Stephan Schmidheiny underwrote the pilot study.
The IMD Global Family Business Award was launched in 1996, with The Lego Group, the first of many prestigious winners over the years. The award has continued to grow in reputation, promoting the indispensable role that family businesses play in the global economy.
LFB continues to be an enormous success, generating much interest from around the world. The subsequent demand for custom programs (tailor-made for specific family business needs) has increased steadily and, in 2004, after welcoming more than 400 families from over 40 countries, we celebrated the 1,000th family business participant milestone.
In 2008, the 20th anniversary of family business research and education at IMD was marked with the presence of Warren Buffett, who engaged openly with faculty and families alike. In 2009, the Biennial Family Business Forum was introduced as well as the first program specifically for Chinese family businesses.
The IMD Global Family Business Center, in its current form, was officially inaugurated in 2011. Growing demand saw the welcome introduction of a new program: Leading the Family Office (LFO) in 2013.
In 2019, the IMD-Pictet Sustainability in Family Business Award was launched, celebrating and rewarding effort, performance and progress in the field of sustainability.
In September 2019, Professor Peter Vogel took over the directorship of the Global Family Business Center. Before him, prestigious family business faculty have led IMD’s family business initiatives over the years, including Joachim Schwass, Denise Rouvinez. All have delivered premium programs and published cutting-edge research and insights in family business, contributing significantly to both the reach and reputation that the Center continues to enjoy today.
The story continues…
Recognized for its major contributions to education, research, and outreach, our world-leading hub is a unique place to prepare family businesses for sustainable success.
2022 EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCES STUDIES IN MANAGEMENT (EIASM), Workshop on Family Firm Management Research
- BEST PAPER AWARD “Family Leadership and Radical Innovation ” by Alfedo De Massis, Ivan Miroshnychenko, with co-authors Lorenzo Ardito an Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli.
2022 FAMILY BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
- For his contributions to the family business field, Alfredo De Massis has been inducted into the Family Business Hall of Fame, which recognizes exceptional individuals in the family business sector. > read more
2022 POETS & QUANTS BEST 40 UNDER 40 MBA PROFESSORS
- Peter Vogel selected > read more
2022 TWO IMD EXPERTS IN TOP 100 FAMILY BUSINESS INFLUENCERS LIST
- Peter Vogel and Alfredo De Massis celebrated for their expertise and thought leadership in the field of family business > read more
2022 INTERNATIONAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE RESEARCH ACADEMY (IFERA) AWARDS
- BEST PAPER AWARD: “Welcome or not? A mixed methods study on artificial intelligence technologies in family-influenced firms” by Jonas Soluk, Ivan Miroshnychenko and Satish Nambisan.
- Best Reviewer Award: Ivan Miroshnychenko nominated
2022 EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT (EURAM) AWARDS
- BEST PAPER AWARD on “Management Challenges in Family Business”: “Artificial intelligence adoption in family-influenced firms: A social capital perspective” by Jonas Soluk, Ivan Miroshnychenko and Satish Nambisan.
2022 FAMILY FIRM INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL AWARD (FFI) AWARD
- BEST UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH PAPER: “Conflict Origin and Management Mechanisms in Family Firms” by Marco Mismetti, Cristina Bettinelli, and Alfredo De Massis.
- HONORABLE MENTION: “The global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on corporate performance of family and nonfamily firms” by Ivan Miroshnychenko, Giorgio Vocalelli, Alfredo De Massis, Stefano Grassi, and Francesco Ravazzolo.
2021 FAMILY FIRM INSTITUE INTERNATIONAL AWARD (FFI)
- The Center being recognized for its major contributions to education, research, and outreach > read more
2021 INTERNATIONAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE RESEARCH ACADEMY (IFERA) AWARDS
- BEST TEACHING CASE STUDY: “Brown-Forman: nothing better in the market” by Marta Widz, Marc Chauvet under the supervision of Benoit Leleux
- BEST PAPER ON GENDER DIVERSITY: “Toward a reconciliation of discrepant perspectives on debt in female led firms” by Alfredo De Massis, Fernando Muñoz-Bullón, María José Sánchez-Bueno, Pilar Velasco and Silvio Vismara.
- BEST PAPER ON CONFERENCE THEME: “Family Business and the Natural Environment” by Ivan Miroshnychenko, Danny Miller, Alfredo De Massis, and Isabel Le-Breton-Miller.
2021 FAMILY AWARD at the Family Enterprise Research Conference (FERC)
- BEST RESEACH ON DIVERSITY: “Women’s leadership and leverage decisions: Exploring the nature of family firms and their governance,” co-authored with Fernando Muñoz-Bullón, María José Sánchez-Bueno, Pilar Velasco and Silvio Vismara.
2021 AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARD
- SILVER MEDALin the category Philanthropy/Non-profit/Sustainability: for the book Family philanthropy navigator: The inspirational guide for philanthropic families on their giving journey by Peter Vogel, Etienne Eichenberger and Malgorzata Kurak.
2021 FAMILY FIRM INSTITUE INTERNATIONAL AWARD (FFI)
- Ivan Miroshnychenko received the Family Business Review Excellent Reviewer Award 2021
2020 TWO IMD EXPERTS IN TOP 100 FAMILY BUSINESS INFLUENCERS LIST
The Center offers pioneering research, executive education and advisory services that bring together a unique team.
Family businesses are highly complex. They must continuously align the interests of the family with the ownership and objectives of the business. They typically have a very long-term, values-based approach; each generation wanting to ensure the success of the business for the next.
Complicated and sensitive family, business, ownership and financial issues can often present a tough challenge for family businesses. Family conflicts can flare up over a lack of clarity on the evolving roles of family members or diverging business visions. These issues present risks to both the family and the business. We are committed to focusing on the characteristics and challenges unique to family businesses.
We do so with an incredible pool of faculty experts in their field.
teaching in family business programs
